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Talk:Secret Keeper
= Protected Locations = James and Lilly's House Is there a reason why the Potters couldn't be their own Secret-Keepers? Wouldn't that have been much safer? 18:01, December 20, 2009 (UTC) :That would've been much safer, yes. Minor whole in the plot there, but easily explained when you think that being your own Secret-Keeper would be a very paranoid thing to do, and James thought it quite dishonorable to distrust his friends. It was his tragic flaw after all. Mr Norrell 14:24, March 11, 2010 (UTC) :Having just re-read Deathly Hallows this question perplexed me as well, almost to the point of removing my enjoyment of the book. It doesn't seem that you can't be your own secret keeper (Bill Weasley was secret keeper for his own house, Shell Cottege) not that it would 'isolate' them from the outside world, they could reveal the secret to whomever they wanted, who could then visit them, but would not be able to then reveal that location to others. For me, the best explanation is that the secret keeper must also be the spell caster, and as very powerful magic, both Lilly and James were unable to successfully cast the spell, necesitating someone else to do so for them. Why a Wizard like Peter Pettigrew could do so, when, seemingly much more accomplished Wizards and Wiches like Lilly (who was top of her class) and James (who was de-facto leader of their group) could not is a different question, but as we see in HP7, Hermione Granger has a problem producing a Patronus, so the fidelius charm could just be a spell they struggled in, and Petigrew excelled in. Perhaps the stress of going into hiding somehow interfered with their ability to successfully and strongly cast the charm themselves, so they relied on their friends, which would not be a problem for them, as they trusted their friends implicitly. Luke Hughes-Bunger 13:12, September 2, 2010 (UTC) :It could be that James himself to stay put and do nothing. The thought that he might be tortured into revealing Lily and Harry's location being to much to bare, he decided it would be safer if an outsider was the secret-keeper.Tjb173 (talk) 01:04, March 19, 2013 (UTC) : : I don't believe you must spell the cast yourself to be Secret-Keeper. As I understood the story, Dumbledore himself had cast it and the Potters chose to make Pettigrew the secret-keeper. Dumbledore has 'offered ' the Potters to be their secret-keeper, but they wanted to make Sirius secret-keeper and sadly decided at last to choose Pettigrew. 12:04, January 6, 2012 (UTC) : My reading was that the protective enchantments Dumbledore put into effect were concerned protecting Harry if Lilly's were to sacrifice herself for him. (Something Dumbledore was able to forsee because he knew Snape asked Voldemort to spare her.) The book doesn't say if the secret keeper needs to cast the spell, but I think the reason why you ordinarily wouldn't want it to be someone occupying the location is that any time you leave/enter it, you would let anyone who sees you do so in on the secret. Mv9435 (talk) 04:37, June 15, 2018 (UTC) The issue I'm really confused about (and which might be a plot hole) is how the Fidelius stopped working at James and Lilly's house. In Deathly Hollows, Chapter 16, when Harry is wondering if he'd be able to see his old house, it says: : "He Harry was not even sure whether he would be able to see the cottage at all; he did not know what happened when the subjects of a Fidelius Charm died." When he finally sees it in the next chapter, it says: : "He could see it; the Fidelius Charm must have died with James and Lily." This doesn't make sense though. "Subjects" would seem to mean the people who had been told of the secret by the secret keeper. But at this point in the book, Wormtail hadn't died yet, and there were still people alive who had known about the secret: Voldemort and Hagrid (who rescued Harry from the house) at the very least. At the time of James and Lilly's murders, at least Bathilda and Sirius were also subjects, in addition to James and Lilly themselves. But since Wormtail hadn't actually been killed by Sirius (and doesn't die before Harry and Hermione get to Godric's Hollow), none of those people could have shared the secret. Meanwhile, a sign was erected on the property (with 16 years of writing on it) that said: : "This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family." So the only way to interpret this is that the house was visible to all since James and Lilly's death. It's not possible that the secret died when James or Lilly died (if, say, they were the ones who casted the fidelius charm) because that would mean that the charm on Grimmauld Palace should have lifted when Dumbledore died, and conflicts with what we're told about what happens when a secret keeper dies. Mv9435 (talk) 05:05, June 15, 2018 (UTC) Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix Snape After Dumbledore died Snape would become a secret keeper, along with the other members of the Order, for 12 Grimald place so why cant the Death eaters get in when Harry, Ron & Hermione are hiding? Wouldnt Snape tell them or Voldermort figure out that he is a secret keeper & make him? :Voldemort believed Snape was on his side, and suspected nothing of Snape being a double agent; considering the conversation that Harry and Voldemort have in the end of book 7, presumably this was in fact the case. Chances are Snape did or said something to Voldemort to convince him that there was nothign at 12 Grimmauld Place that was worth going back for and that no one was using it anymore. BachLynn23 23:08, July 28, 2010 (UTC) : As I understood the last book, Moody and Dumbledore took precautions against Snape - Moody (tongue) and Dumbledore (attacking dust figure). So it could be possible that Snape could not tell Voldemort because of this precautions. 12:04, January 6, 2012 (UTC) Yaxley Why could Harry, Hermione and Ron not get back to 12 Grimmauld Place when they revealed the secret to Yaxley. As i understand the Fidelius Charm, Harry and Hermione revealed the Black House to Yaxley, but they only told him the place. He was not able to tell others. : I think the point was that with the original Secret-Keeper (Dumbledore) dead and everyone who knew at that time becoming new Secret-Keepers, anyone those Secret Keeepers told would in turn become Secret-Keepers. Yaxley would thus indeed be capable of telling the other Death Eaters the secret. : And even if he couldn't reveal it and the Trio just had an Idiot Ball moment, I wouldn't want to keep living in a house a known killer can get into just because his friends are locked out. 04:22, July 14, 2011 (UTC) : But besides that one about living in a house with a known killer, no Yaxley would not be able to tell anyone else about 12 Grimmauld Place. Hermione was Secret-Keeper and accidentally told Yaxley, but he would not be able to tell it as he wasn't Secret-Keeper. That post can only be given to the next person if the original dies. And only Secret-Keepers can reveal the location. Furthermore Yaxley was only one person against three, which leads to the question as to why it would be dangerous to be there. ---- 11:19, July 5, 2012 (UTC) : Deathly Hallows makes it clear Yaxley couldn't have told anyone, but he could have let people in by side-along apparation. :: ''"If Yaxley could now get inside the house, there was no way that they could return. Even now, he could be bringing other Death Eaters in there by Apparition" '' : Mv9435 (talk) 04:37, June 15, 2018 (UTC) Shell Cottage The Fidelius charm wasn't placed on Shell Cottage until after the trio escaped and the Weasley family had to go into hiding. : It doesn't say when the charm was placed, but the fact the Fidelius charm was in effect was mentioned after the trip arrived. Mv9435 (talk) 04:37, June 15, 2018 (UTC)